A general object of the present disclosure, in accordance with one aspect of the disclosure, is to provide a method of manufacturing a glass container with a radiation-integrated optically readable graphic data carrier, thereby eliminating the need to apply a separate graphic data carrier label to the container.
The present disclosure embodies a number of aspects that can be implemented separately from or in combination with each other.
A method of making a glass container with an optically readable graphic data carrier in accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure includes exposing a glass container to electromagnetic radiation to produce discoloration within the glass of the container, and then directing focused beam energy at the glass container in a pattern corresponding to a desired graphic data carrier to heat the glass and selectively remove the discoloration in a pattern corresponding to the desired graphic data carrier.
In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a method of manufacturing a glass container with an optically readable graphic data carrier. The method includes producing a glass melt including a bulk composition doped with at least one electromagnetic-radiation-sensitive dopant, and forming a glass container from the glass melt. The method also includes annealing the glass container, and then selectively exposing the formed glass container to electromagnetic radiation to produce a localized discolored portion of the glass container, and then directing focused beam radiation at the glass container in a pattern corresponding to a desired graphic data carrier to heat the glass and selectively remove parts of the localized discoloration portion in the pattern corresponding to the desired graphic data carrier.
In accordance with a further aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a method of making a glass container with an optically readable QR code, which includes the steps of (a) exposing a glass container to X-ray or gamma-ray radiation to produce discoloration within the glass of the container, and then (b) directing laser energy at the glass container in a pattern corresponding to a desired QR code to heat the glass and selectively remove the discoloration produced in the step (a) in a pattern corresponding to the desired QR code.